Clowning Around in Franklin County

Opinion

By Jessye Deane

A couple weeks ago, I brought my family to the circus. Thanks to our members at North Star in Sunderland, for the first time ever, Circus Smirkus, an award-winning, world-renowned traveling youth circus, made its debut in Franklin County. Those of us who were lucky enough to land underneath the big top are already counting down the days until the troupe returns next summer. 

The performers, ages 11-18, flipped and flew and blew the minds of clown-nosed, popcorn-eating audience members of all ages, my kids especially. Gill’s own 12-year-old Oscar Gradick represented Franklin County well with his unbelievable juggling and made me irrationally proud of him and the rest of the very young, very talented troupe. And while I watched these kids soar and spiral above the crowd, I couldn’t help but think that I really need to start stretching more.

But after that, I was struck by the parallels that can be drawn between performing in the circus and running a business. Let me explain.

As we know, on any given day, managing a business or nonprofit can be a circus in its own right; we’re all performing a constant balancing act, juggling work deadlines and family demands and trying desperately not to let any of the balls drop.

Both the circus and business require an obscene level of flexibility and artistry, forcing everyone involved with the organizations to continually bend and contort themselves in order to meet the unusually high expectations of spectators.

Effective risk management is the foundation of good business and the big top, with business owners and circus-ers both barreling through the ring of fire and walking the ever-present, fine tightrope line between success and fall-on-your-face failure. 

While the argument can be made that clowns can pop up in all industries, ultimately, it’s the showmanship, discipline, and the unspoken, figure-it-out factor that separates successful ringmasters from the rest — and maybe a little bit of magic, too.

All this to say that, as Franklin County business and nonprofit professionals, we don’t often have the luxury of the ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’ mentality, and I hope, if you are feeling the weight of all those standing on your shoulders, that you take this reminder from the circus and remember how talented and truly spectacular you are.

After all, the show must go on!

Let’s all stretch more, too.

Jessye Deane is executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.